notladjr

As at least one other person mentioned the emed procotered home tests are a great solution. I flew from Nashville to LA late January for two cruises. I took my proctored home test for the first cruise before I left home and packed the second home test I would need for the second cruise about a week later. I took the second test from my hotel room. As long as you have a smart phone and internet connection you can pretty much take the test anywhere and the whole process won't take more than 30 minutes from the time you start to the finish after the 15 minute wait for the results. Within a very few minutes the results is posted to the NAVICA app which you show to the cruise line as proof of a negative test. These tests are just $99 for 3 of them or $70 for two. I always get an extra in case something goes wrong.

Unlike apparently the vast majority of HAL cruisers I would love to see him add some larger ships. I don't understand the fascination with small or mid size ships but to each his own. I think HAL could do larger ships with more room for additional amenties like additional eating options, etc while still maintaining the "classic cruising" vibe.

Unlike many who cruise HAL because they have smaller ships I cruise HAL some despite the fact they have smaller ships. I love Half Moon Cay and BB Kings Blues Club. For those reasons alone I will always cruise HAL some. In two days I board the smallest ship  I have ever cruised on for 14 nights, HAL's Zuiderdam. Looking forward to the great HAL crews and good cuisine but wish it was bigger!

NMCruiser,

As others have said thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! I am boarding Zuiderdam January 30th for the 14 night Panama Canal cruise. I have wondered what would happen should I test positive during the cruise and now I know! Good luck on your upcoming cruise. I pray it goes well.

On 1/13/2022 at 2:04 PM, Btimmer said:

No numbers have been disclosed that I know of, but it has been reported that about 225 rooms have been set aside in Decks 4 & 6 forward. We get our antigen tests tomorrow for the turnaround voyage.

My cabin for the January 30th cruise is on Deck 4 but midship. I am a little nervous being that close to the plague! I am hoping they upgrade and move me.

On 1/12/2022 at 5:10 PM, canadianbear said:

I think it’s insane to isolate/quarantine someone in an inside cabin and basically throw that key away.  It would be torture to me.  I’m glad HAL has put people in a balcony cabin.   

While I agree with your sentiment I fully understand why some cruise lines are doing it. They are taking the time and effort to make their quarantine rooms negative pressure rooms just like hospitals have for contagious patients. This protects the not infected crew and passengers much better on the ship. You can't make a room a negative pressure one if it has a balcony door opening and closing.

6 hours ago, NMCruiser123 said:

Tomorrow is indeed canal day!

Glad you are halfway through your solitary confinement! When you do get out let us know if you hear any news or rumors from the crew about the status of future Zuiderdam cruises coming up soon. I am supposed to be on her January 30th Canal cruiseand between the spike in Omicron Covid cases and the number of ports turning away ships I am worried it may be cancelled.

Wow! I just discovered this thread. I have read all of the OP's posts and most of the others. I am sailing on a 14 night Panama Canal cruise on Zuiderdam January 30th. Oh, and will be on deck 4!!!! This assumes of course that the cruise will not be cancelled. I have a feeling we are about to have a four to six week "pause" in cruising until the Omicron variant burns out.
 

Also I was surprised to see they are quarantining you in a balcony cabin. A cruiser on another line who tested positive were moved from their balcony cabin to an interior cabin and given the explanation that the inside cabins were "negative pressure" cabins like hospital rooms designed for contagious patients. This makes sense since you can't control a balcony cabin like that. However I am gladt o know that if I get quarantined while on Zuiderdam it looks like I would get a balcony cabin. That would make a world of difference I think.
 

This thread makes me glad I have a bazillion unread kindle ebooks downloaded to my phone. I also will make sure I have a lot of movies / tv shows downloaded from Netflix and Amazon prime before I leave.

My thoughts and prayers are with the OP!!!! Hang in there. Your thread here has been invaluable to us about to cruise on Zuiderdam. 

Speaking of final payments I have a question. My final payment for a late April cruise is sometime in February. I have paid for all of the cruise except for $200. Before I pay that final amount I wanted to find out if there are any advantages or disadvantages to paying it now or waiting until just before the deadline? For example if Omicron causes  cruises to be cancelled would what NCL offers me be affected by whether or not the cruise was fully paid at the time of cancellation?

Eventually at 2 hours 42 minutes on hold for my second attempt today I was once again disconnected so never spoke to anyone. Over 4 hours today on hold on the phone trying to speak to MSC Customer Service. 

Is there a add on similar to the "infomare" enhancement that will give you a customer service number stateside that MSC will actually answer? Today I held for 1 1/2 hours and was disconnected so called again and was on hold 2 hours 42 minutes before being disconnected without ever talking to a human being! (this is in addition to the 1 hour 25 minute on hold a few days ago in my first attempt at contact).

MSC cancelled my 18 night Grand Voyage on the new Seashore last month. They stated we could not request a refund until they issued Future Cruise Credits for the cancelled cruise. A few days ago my FCC email arrived so I tried calling MSC customer service to request my refund. I was on hold for 1 hour 25 minutes before I gave up because I had something else I had to do. I decided to try again this morning. I was on hold over 1 hour 30 minutes when I was disconnected before speaking to a human being. I called back and now as I type this have been on hold for 2 hours 30 minutes with no answer! This is ridiculous. I understand staff shortages, etc but thee calls all of 1 1/2 hours or more with no answer is inexusable.

I greatly enjoyed my first MSC cruise aboard Meraviglia in September. It was a solo cruise so I have been looking forward to introducing my wife to the wonderful MSC ships and crews. I don't think this is going to happen now. If I ever get my money back they are not getting any more anytime soon.

If the Z does a dry dock anytime in the next year or two it would probably just be a technical one due to the shortage of cash with the cruise lines and for the fact that for over a year there were no passengers on ships so less wear and tear on carpet, furniture, mattresses, etc that might normally be part of a refurb. Also the Z is a pretty small ship so not room to add the additional amenties the newer and larger classes of ship have.

Does anybody know if HAL still offers the pre cruise discounted Soda Fountain Card where you could get a $50 card for $25? I don't see it listed as an option on my cruise planner for my January 2022 cruise.

The USA just in the past day or so has lifted the travel restrictions for Europeans who are fully vaccinated with an approved shot. I think Astra Zeneca is not on the list but Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J are. Hopefiully that will mean most Europeans booking this cruise will now be able to go and it won't be cancelled. On a FB group I am on MSC has been giving conflicting answers to inquiries. Some have been told it is cancelled and others that it was only cancelled for European customers not American citizens. I am anxious to find out what the correct answer is since I am booked on it and have been looking forward to it.

The surge we are seeing worldwide of the Delta variant of Covid 19 is very worrisome. Until a couple of weeks ago I was feeling great about my October 31st `8 night Grand Voyage on MSC Seashore but I have serious concerns now we may see this and many more cruises cancelled.

Pretty much every cruise line I have been on has a Soda package but so far  I can't find any info about one for MSC. I am booked on the 18 night Oct 31st  cruise on the new ship Seashore. The cheapest beverage package is over $400!!! I was hoping for a soda only package. Is there a Soda Package and I am just missing it?

On 2/25/2021 at 2:29 PM, GA Dave said:

So, based on that news, June is almost guaranteed to be cancelled, and most likely July and August as well.  The CDC test cruises, etc. will most likely take 2-3 months, so (90) days after that looks like the Fall.

Your math is pretty much what I have come up with as well. If there are any cruises in July or August I think they would be short 3 or 4 day cruises to see how the new protocols work with paying customers then maybe a month later roll out 7 day cruises.

In addition to needing time to get crews and provisions in place don't forget the cruise lines have said when they resume sailing it will be a gradual ramp up starting with a few ships and shorter (3-5 day) cruises. This makes those of us with 7 night cruises in December unlikely to sail in my opinion and 7 day cruises in November for sure not a possibility.

The three major cruise companies, Carnival, Royal, and NCL all have taken steps to attain new investment, take out new lines of credit, and arrange for loan payments to be deffered. All to allow them to remain solvent for up to one year. That one year will be up in April 2021. For that reason I think all three will surivive. My biggest concern is that once the pandemmic is over and the cruise lines ramp back up with so much new debt to service how is that going to effect their operations? Will we see further cutbacks in food quality and offerings? Less crew and therefore less service? Time will tell.

Thank you for the great review. Like you we mostly cruise Royal Caribbean although we have enjoyed HAL, Celebrity, and have a 2021 cruise booked on the new Carnival Mardi Gras. We have one prior experience cruising with NCL. It was 12 years ago and while nothing terrible happened on the cruise (Hawaii to CA) it just didn't click with us and we have never cruised with them again - until now. Having read some good things about their newer / bigger ships (other than Epic which is an epic failure in design) and tempted by all of the free at seas offers I just booked us a 14 night transatlantic crossing on Getaway for April 2022 to replace the land trip to England we were supposed to do this August 2020 for our 40th wedding anniversary. We also are supposed to be on Harmony of the Seas before the Getaway cruise as we are booked on Harmony for Dec 6, 2020 but I will be surprised if that really happens. We also are from the Nashville area, we live in Murfreesboro! Glad that you enjoyed your cruise on Getaway as after  I booked I then checked Cruise Critic passenger reviews and was shocked how bad they are. Of particular concern is seeing many complaints about waiting for hours to get off the ship at ports of call. Depending on the price I may have to splurge for that priorty access you had. We normally also book inside cabins because we like that you can sleep late or take a nap during the day in total darkness AND the cost savings is usually enormous. Our Getaway cruise is for our 40th so I am splurging for a mini suite. Hopefully going back to an inside cabin afterwards won't be too traumatic! LOL

Thanksfor takingthe time to write such a comprehensive review!

On 4/9/2020 at 2:53 PM, Empehi said:

With 25% to 50% of the people with the Corona Virus being asymptomatic (not even a fever) it will

be impossible to keep the virus off the ships until (or if) there is a vaccine. For me, with over

40 cruises, I will unfortunately have to give up my favorite leisure activity until a vaccine is developed.

I think many people are not thinking about this fact. 

 

This post is my take on the situation as well. We have a December 6th cruise booked on Harmony and I am praying for some kind of miracle that a good vaccine will be developed in 9 months  rather than the 12-18 month timeline given as the best case. I am just over 60 but am diabetic so a bullseye for this virus and not with the easy symptoms. I feel like I will be endangering my life to cruise if there is no vaccine by then and I sincerely hope Royal Caribbean feels the same way and at least will offer folks the chance to cancel with a future cruise credit if they feel endangered. Not to mention they are predicting a second wave of this virus during flu season which my December cruise will be in the middle of.

We have a December 6, 2020 cruise on Harmony. Not cancelling yet but concerned because they do not anticipate having a vaccine for Covid 19 until at least several months after that. My wife and I are in the "vulnerable" catagory. I am over 60 and a diabetic being treated for high blood pressure. She is just old. 

What causes me pause is now they are talking about the virus probably coming in "waves" with it being suppressed during the summer months but having a second wave during what is typically the flue season this coming winter. My December cruise might be right in the middle ofa second wave.

However I am not making any knee jerk decisions and have plenty of time to see what happens. Not so much for our planned 40th anniversary ground trip to England this August.

On 8/12/2019 at 10:22 AM, cmich068 said:

I just purchased The Key for my upcoming Greek Isles cruise on Jewel. It was still selling for $19.99 three weeks out so I expect that they are not getting great uptake on my sailing.

 

Only really wanted to ensure priority tender access in our ports, but will obviously use the embarkation lunch and internet packages as well. Still not sure I see the value but will give it a shot and report back in a few weeks time. 

I am on the September 15th Jewel Greek Island cruise and also purchased the key for $19.99. I think the lower price may be more because Jewel is a smaller ship with less attractions to hae priority use of and no big shows that having reserved seating for would be a great benefit. I booked it for the priority embarkation and disembarkation mostly and because for once I was considering buying the internet package anyway and it was only six bucks more a day to get The Key.

On 7/10/2019 at 1:55 PM, gooselover said:

Oh believe me I did try disputing with my credit card company.  Deposit was $2000 for the 6 of us.  I lost the dispute

You did not lose the  $2000 deposit. You lost $100 per person so $600 total.

I understand your angst and hate they have gone to these nonrefundable deposits. However I am 100% certain, at least if you booked online and not on the phone, that during the booking process at least once the word nonrefundable was in front of you.

I reluctantly book non-refundable because they have the refundable fares so much highter it makes it worth it to me to take the chance I won't have to cancel because that is a pretty low percentage and I would rather risk that than the more likely event of me paying a lot more for the actual cruise. 

My advice would be to suck it up  and take the $600 loss, rebook for a date that works, and consider this a life lesson. You can blame RCL but all of the other cruise lines have also gone this route as well and your experience would have been the same there as well.